"Given what I know now, I refuse to accept this limited view of Ethiopia and its contribution to world spirituality because this view has stagnated our concept of religion in afrika and how we relate to other cultures. I refuse to keep validating my perception of the divinity of Haile Selassie through an Israelite god. Ideas of emperors being gods existed long before the presence of the Israelites in Egypt. We, as Rastafarians, can find the essence of our spirituality in an Ethiopia and Egypt void of Israelite interpretation."
"Our need to understand each other and our environment is very crucial in the rationalization of our existence. This can only be realized through clarity of perception. Religion does not offer clarity. What religion offers is a perception and this perception comes through belief. This belief comes through faith and, as we know, faith is not knowledge. Faith is what we would like our perception to be or not to be. Haile Selassie declares, "We must not confuse Spirituality with Religion." Rastafari must not be bound by religious perceptions because this will cause stagnation of the movement and thereby create fundamentalism. We must be open to the different cultures of afrika and not demonize them because of biblical interpretations."
--Mutabaruka
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